General & Housing committee walks through draft 8.1, flags appeals, landlord data and short‑term rental provisions

The Committee on General and Housing convened March 13 for a section‑by‑section walkthrough of draft 8.1 of the committee’s housing bill, with Cameron Wood of the Office of Legislative Counsel guiding members through edits and additions.

The walkthrough focused on substantive policy and reporting changes in the draft: an amendments package to the state appeals standard, a revised annual landlord‑certificate data collection timetable, an authorization (not a mandate) allowing municipalities to place a 1% tax on short‑term rentals, and several programmatic reports and appropriations. "For the record, Cameron Wood, Office of Legislative Counsel," Wood told the committee as he opened the walkthrough. "Would you like me at this point, do you want to go back through section by section, just highlight the amendments since the last time we met?"

Why it matters: the bill packages regulatory changes with roughly $100 million‑scale appropriations and dozens of smaller grants. Members and staff repeatedly warned that Appropriations is facing requests well above the governor’s recommendation and that large line items could be cut or scaled back…